 By: EPE - Jan 22, 2004/ Source: EPE
After the success of his 1968 TV special, Elvis decided to
stop making movies and to go back to live entertaining as
soon as his movie contracts were up. He hadn't toured in
years. By that time, his bassist from the 50's, Bill Black,
had passed away. His lead guitar player, Scotty Moore, and
his drummer, D.J. Fontana, were busy with session work.
Before he could begin to tour again he needed to recruit,
along with back-up singers and other show members, a new
core rhythm group. The new players would eventually become
known at The TCB Band, a nod to the "Takin' Care of
Business" slogan and logo Elvis would adopt for his personal
and professional life.
Elvis' first live concert engagement was to be a four-week
run at the new International Hotel in Las Vegas beginning on
July 31, 1969. By mid-July he and his new band began
rehearsals for the show. The group consisted of: James
Burton (lead guitar), Larry Muhoberac (piano), Jerry Scheff
(bass), Ronnie Tutt (drums) and John Wilkinson (rhythm
guitar). Various gentleman players came and went from the
band over the years. Following is the first of two
installments of brief bios on these artists:
James Burton played lead guitar. James was born in 1939 in
Louisiana and as a teen appeared on "The Louisiana Hayride".
He eventually worked for Ricky Nelson, including appearing
with him on the Nelson family's "Ozzie & Harriet" TV series.
He also became well known for his session work with such
greats as The Everly Brothers, The Beach Boys, and Sonny and
Cher. Elvis had gotten in touch with him about being part of
the 1968 TV special, but he was unavailable. Elvis recruited
him as lead guitarist for his new band in 1969, a position
he would keep until Elvis' death in 1977. After that, James
continued with session work and toured with other stars such
as Gram Parsons, Buffalo Springfield, Emmylou Harris and
John Denver. James Burton is a well respected guitarist in
the rock and country music industries and was inducted into
the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in March 19, 2001.
John Wilkinson played rhythm guitar in the band from 1969
until Elvis' last show in 1977. Born in Washington, DC in
1945, John moved with his family to Springfield, Missouri.
His father, a professor of psychology, was very talented
musically and was a big influence. John began playing guitar
at age five and banjo at age six. He also played trumpet. He
first met Elvis in 1956 when he was able to see him
backstage at an Elvis concert in Springfield. His early
musical influences were folk singers like Peter, Paul and
Mary, Gordon Lightfoot and The Kingston Trio. He was able to
join The Kingston Trio at one point, a dream come true.
After Elvis' death, John worked for an aircraft company.
While working there he suffered a severe stroke in 1989. No
longer able to continue working in that field or to play the
guitar he returned to performing as a vocalist.
Jerry Scheff played bass guitar. Jerry grew up in San
Francisco and moved to Sacramento at age 14. He played the
tuba in grammar school took up the bass in seventh grade. He
played classical and jazz music on the string bass. He
served in the Navy, ending up in San Diego when he was
discharged in 1961. He moved to Los Angles, where he began
session work. His first hit song to play on was "Along Comes
Mary" by The Association. He played for Johnny Mathis,
Johnny Rivers, Neil Diamond, Nancy Sinatra, Pat Boone, Sammy
Davis Jr., Dionne Warwick, Barbra Streisand and Linda
Ronstadt to name a few. He played bass for Elvis' concerts
from 1969 to 1977 except for a two-year period, 1973 - 1975,
while he was going through a divorce. After Elvis' death he
toured with Bob Dylan, Bette Midler, John Denver and Elvis
Costello.
During the two-year absence of Jerry Scheff, Emory Gordy Jr.
and Duke Bardwell each took a turn as bass player for Elvis'
band.
Emory Gordy Jr. had done session work for Elvis, sitting in
for Jerry on the March 1972 session that produced recordings
such as "Separate Ways", "Burning Love" and "Always On My
Mind". When Elvis needed to replace Jerry in the concert
lineup in April 1973, he was already familiar with Emory's
work. He toured with Elvis from then until September 1973,
performing in 113 live shows with Elvis. Emory has worked on
albums with such artists as Alabama, The Bellamy Brothers,
Jimmy Buffett, Rosanne Cash, Billy Joel, Wynonna Judd and
many others. He has also produced soundtracks for films such
as "The Tin Cup", "Switchback", and "The Kings of New York"
among others. He is married to country singing star Patty
Loveless.
Duke Bardwell replaced Emory Gordy Jr. in 1974. He had met
Ronnie Tutt on a session for Jose Feliciano and it was
Ronnie who suggested him to Elvis. He would play bass in the
band until Jerry Scheff returned in 1975. Born in Baton
Rouge, Louisiana in 1943, Bardwell is part of a family of
nine who, including his parents Stanford and Loyola, were
all named after major universities. He began his musical
career at age five when his mother gave him a ukulele. He
has played for artists such as Tom Rush, Emmylou Harris and
Kenny Loggins. He recently released his first CD.
Ronnie Tutt played drums for Elvis from 1969 to 1977. Ronnie
is from Dallas, Texas. As a very young child his mother put
him in dance class. He also began playing musical
instruments, starting at age three with a ukelele, then
guitar, violin and trumpet. He didn't start playing the
drums until his late teens. His experience in dance gave him
a sense of rhythm that wasn't satisfied by other
instruments. The first band he played with was a
western-swing band. His friend Larry Muhoberac, a keyboard
player, put in a good word for him and he was granted an
audition as Elvis' drummer in 1969. In an interview he once
said the reason he thought Elvis gave him the job was..."I
emulated and accented everything that he did just
instinctively. Every move, almost like a glorified stripper!
And he loved that." Ronnie has also worked with Billy Joel,
Johnny Cash, The Carpenters and Neil Diamond among others.
Over the years, other drummers substituted for Ronnie in
Elvis' show when scheduling conflicts arose. Bob Lanning
played the drums for shows in early 1970. Jerome "Stump"
Monroe, who was the regular drummer for The Sweet
Inspirations, sat in on a couple of shows. Session drummer
Larry Londin, who had worked with Elvis at RCA's Studio B in
1971, filled in for Ronnie for eight performances in March
1976 and again in June 1977 for Elvis' last two shows.
Londin also worked with numerous other artists including
Rosanne Cash, Randy Travis, David Frizzell, Rodney Crowell,
Aaron Tippin, George Strait and Al Green. He died in
Nashville on August 24, 1992.
When Elvis returned to live performing in 1969, leaving his
Hollywood movie career behind, he recruited players for his
new band. They were: James Burton (lead guitar), Larry
Muhoberac (piano), Jerry Scheff (bass), Ronnie Tutt (drums),
and John Wilkinson (rhythm guitar). Various other gentlemen
players came and went from the band over the years until
Elvis' final concert in 1977. We profiled several of them in
last week's Elvis Fact of the Week. Following are the rest
of our brief bios:
Larry Muhoberac grew up in Louisiana and began playing
accordion and piano at age 5. He toured Europe with the
Woody Herman band at age of 20. He moved to Memphis in 1959.
Formerly known as Larry Owens, he and his band performed at
Elvis' two Memphis-area charity concerts in 1961. He became
a session player in California and worked on several
soundtrack recording sessions with Elvis, including "Frankie
& Johnny", "Paradise Hawaiian Style" and "Speedway". He
played the first Elvis engagement at the International Hotel
in 1969. He went on to play for such artists as Neil
Diamond, Al Martino, Tina Turner and Ray Charles among
others. In 1986, he emigrated to Australia, where music
still keeps him very busy today.
Glenn D Hardin replaced Larry Muhoberac on piano. Glen D. is
from Texas and began playing piano at age 8. He hadn't
thought about playing professionally until he got a job a
nightclub in San Diego, California while he was in the U.S.
Navy. After leaving the Navy he moved to Los Angeles and
started doing session work. He has worked with artists such
as Buddy Holly's former group The Crickets, Emmylou Harris,
Ricky Nelson, Travis Tritt, Roy Orbison and John Denver
among many others. He played piano in Elvis' concerts from
1970 to early 1976.
Shane Keister played piano for eight shows in early 1976
until Tony Brown was hired to replace Glenn D. Hardin. Tony
Brown is the son of a preacher and secular music was
discouraged in his youth. Gospel music was his early
inspiration. He played and toured with The Oak Ridge boys.
After working with Elvis he began working in Nashville in
the recording business. Today, he's an influential record
producer and recording industry executive.
David Briggs played keyboards for Elvis's shows from 1976
until the end of February 1977. His work with Elvis dates
back to 1966, when he was called in to substitute for
pianist Floyd Cramer, who was late for one of the recording
sessions for the "How Great Thou Art" album. Briggs played
piano in Cramer's place for the song "Love Letters", one of
the non-gospel songs recorded in those same sessions. Cramer
then arrived to take over on piano, but Elvis liked Briggs
and kept him on for the rest of those sessions to play
organ. He continued to record with Elvis through to his last
recording session in 1976. David is from Alabama and the
famous music of the Muscle Shoals area. His first recording
session was at age 14. He has recorded with artists such as
Loretta Lynn, Reba McEntire, Kenny Rogers, Mark Chestnut,
Barbara Mandrell and many others. He has also worked in
Nashville as a songwriter, a producer and a music director
for television specials.
Throughout the 1970's, these musicians toured and played
with Elvis Presley in over 1,000 shows across the United
States. Many of them still look back over that experience
with fondness and pride. In 1997, on the 20th anniversary of
Elvis' death, a concert was held in Memphis reuniting many
of these musicians and many of the vocalists who had worked
with Elvis as part of his concert tours. The 1997concert
starred the real Elvis Presley, via video with all sound
removed from the footage but his voice, with his former
colleagues performing live on stage. This big production
served as the prototype for a smaller road-show size
production, Elvis-The Concert, which has been touring around
the world since 1998. Another major reunion production was
held in Memphis on the 25th anniversary in 2002. The road
show, Elvis-The Concert, just finished its fourth tour of
Europe last week. The show has received tremendous acclaim
and in 1998 was designated a Guinness World Record as "the
first live tour headlined by a performer who is no longer
living."
On his web site, bassist Jerry Scheff wrote about his
experience with the 1997 reunion concert: "There were times
I forgot that his physical body was not with us. At the end
of the show, when we were all lined up on stage, and you,
the audience, were all on your feet, I was looking at your
faces, and I thought I could see the same emotions going
through you that I was feeling. They were mixed feelings of
elation, sadness, and a sense that we had experienced
something entirely different than we had experienced before.
Then again, it all had to do with Elvis. What did we
expect?"
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